Advances in analytical techniques for detecting contaminants in soils

Publication date: 12-12-2025
Extent: 30 pages

Contributions by: Liang Wang and Ravi Naidu, University of Newcastle, Australia and CRC for Contamination Assessment and Remediation of the Environment (crcCARE), Australia; and Ying Cheng, University of Newcastle, Australia

Chapter synopsis:

Soil contamination, stemming from both anthropogenic and natural origins, remains a critical environmental and public health concern. This contamination spectrum is diverse, encompassing inorganic elements like heavy metal(loid)s—lead, mercury, arsenic—and organic compounds such as pesticide residues and petroleum byproducts. The consequences of such contamination range from compromised soil health to severe health implications in humans. With emerging contaminants like PFAS, microplastics, and endocrine disruptors adding to the challenge, there's an urgent need for sophisticated detection and analysis methodologies. This review emphasizes the role of analytical tools, notably spectroscopy and mass spectrometry, in comprehensively addressing soil contamination. Techniques like atomic absorption Spectroscopy (AAS), Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) provide molecular-level clarity, while mass spectrometry elucidates intricate elemental and structural facets. Complementing these are imaging technologies, namely X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) and Hyperspectral Imaging (HSI), which afford both micro and macro environmental assessments.

DOI: 10.19103/AS.2025.0151.11